Mule-arita

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with ginger slice and lime twist.

Sometimes it’s nice to have other people get the ball rolling for you. When friends come over, I’ll ask them to give me some of their preferred flavors before making their drink. This way I not only get a sense of what they like, but can think about other drinks with those flavors.

A few weeks ago, I asked my friend what she usually drinks. She responded with two pretty specific answers that set me on the right path. First, she said she likes tequila with a bit of lime and agave. She followed that up with, “also, I’ve been very into Moscow Mules lately”.

Perfect, I could definitely work with this. I decided to throw together a sort of Mule-ified margarita. Tequila and lime provdied the classic marg base. Instead of ginger beer that you’d see in a Mule, I used ginger liqueur for even more bite. Lastly, some grapefruit liqueur to ensure I couldn’t screw things up.

The Mule-arita started off with classic Margarita notes of tequila and citrus. On the sip, you could immediately tell something was up. The ginger raced to the front with it’s trademark kick, and grapefruit provided a welcomed zesty change of pace. Depending on where you focused, you could act like this was a straight margarita variation, or something altogether different. Plus, it was dangerously drinkable, and I ended up making a few more for some other friends before the night was over.

Next time you are playing host, be sure to listen carefully when your friends describe their tastes. Think about some classic drinks that have those flavors, then use it as a launching pad to take things in a new direction. It’s an easy way to lighten your creative load, and expand your personal catalog in the process.